Are they there yet?!
Written: May 14 '01 (Updated May 14 '01)
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The Bottom Line
I wouldn't hesitate to use Proflowers again.
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THE SITE AND SHOPPING OPTIONS
I was greeted by lovely photos of tulips and spring lilies. And it was immediately apparent it would be easy to find what I wanted.
Proflowers gave me the option of shopping by occasion such as New Baby, Graduation, Business Gift, Get Well, and many others. It's also possible to shop by flower type such as Bonsai, Centerpieces, Fragrant, Mixed Bouquets, Orchids, Potted Plants, Wreaths, etc.
I was shopping for a friend who had recently lost her baby and I had no idea what I wanted. I just knew I wanted something tasteful and not overly cheerful to let her know I was thinking of her. So, I opted to Shop by recipient
SHOP BY RECIPIENT
When I selected this feature, the website took me to a page that asked me what the occasion was, who the gift was for, and what message you'd like to express with your gift.
It also asks how much you'd prefer to spend giving you a choice of I'll Decide Later, Less than $35, $35 - $55, and More than $55.
After filling in the above information, I opted to see the recommendations. But I could've chose the Give More Details option instead allowing me to pick style and colors of the flowers.
Also, if a person is allergic to a particular type of flower or you simply don't like a particular flower, you can tell the website to avoid it when giving you recommendations.
Additional options for narrowing down choices are Lots of Fragrance, No Fragrance, Avoiding Allergens, and Low Maintenance.
MY CHOICE
I was surprised by the several nice things that were suggested to me in the price range I selected. And I ended up choosing a potted plant...a pink miniature rose plant with several blooms for $29.95. The plant itself was to be 10 inches high and came in a 6 inch wicker basket. The website also stated that it could be replanted outside.
SHIPPING COSTS
All products are available for delivery Tuesday through Saturday. Orders must be placed before 12 noon Pacific time the day before you would like them to be delivered. There is however a small selection of flowers that can be ordered after that deadline for next day delivery. There is also a limited selection available for Monday delivery.
Standard shipping (via FedEx) is $7.95 within the continental United States. For $2 dollars more, you can upgrade to Priority Overnight. Priority Overnight will get your flowers there earlier in the day. $5.00 is added for Saturday deliveries.
Standard delivery for potted plants, however, is 2 day delivery. And because I was ordering on a Thursday and did not want to pay $5.00 for Saturday delivery, I simply paid the $2 charge to have them sent Priority Overnight to arrive on Friday as I didn't want to wait til Tuesday for delivery.
ORDERING
The ordering process was quick and easy and I immediately received an email thanking me for my order.
MY DELIVERY EXPERIENCE
The following day, I received a confirmation email informing me my order had been picked up at the grower and was on its way to the recipient.
At the Proflowers website, you're able to track the package while it's on its way. And sometime after 11 am, I was able to find out it had arrived at a FedEx location near my friend's house and was on a van on the way to her. At that point, I assumed everything was ok. But for some reason, I decided to check again that evening to see that it had been delivered for sure. Turns out it hadn't.
The Proflowers website simply told me that delivery had not been made and the plant was back at the FedEx location. So I then took the tracking number they gave me and went to the FedEx website where the info was a little more detailed. According to FedEx, there was no such address.
PHONE CALLS
I immediately called my friend's sister and verified that yes I did have the correct address.
I then called FedEx and advised them of the above. They said they could attempt re-delivery and they would try their best but couldn't guarantee that it would happen Saturday. Oh great..a live plant sitting at a FedEx facility til Monday and not having gotten any water or sunlight since Thursday. I immediately envisioned a dead plant arriving at her door.
As far as the driver saying there was no such address, I told the representative that was ridiculous as my friend lives inside a gated community and I'm sure security at the gate would be more than happy to give the driver instructions.
By looking at maps on the computer, I came to realize that there were two streets in that area with the same name...though different spellings. And I figured that the mix-up probably occurred because of that. I double checked that the spelling of the street name I gave when I ordered was correct. I also made sure the spelling Proflowers gave FedEx was correct. After determining no mistake was made, I came to the conclusion it was definitely the fault of FedEx and was afraid they'd make the same mistake again. So I called my friend's sister again, got the name of the community the recipient lives in, and called FedEx back so they could make a note of that on the delivery instructions for the driver.
PROFLOWERS CUSTOMER SERVICE
I still wasn't happy about the fact that this plant probably wouldn't be delivered til Tuesday and in who knows what kind of condition. So I decided to call Proflowers' customer service number (which was very easily found on their site).
I explained the entire situation to the representative and she was attentive and apologetic. I told her I realized it was not their fault but that it wasn't mine either and was wondering what could be done to remedy the situation.
The Proflowers rep informed me that they would be more than happy to send out a replacement at no additional charge. Unfortunately, because it was late Friday, it wouldn't get there til Tuesday. I decided that was a compromise I could live with.
She stated that my friend would end up receiving both the first plant and the second one. I asked if there was any way to stop the first one from getting there as the last thing I wanted arriving at my friend's door after the loss of her baby was a plant in bad condition that was going to die. The representative totally understood and put me on hold while she contacted FedEx and then came back and assured me the first plant would not be delivered. My friend would only receive the second one.
ARE THEY THERE YET?!
On Tuesday, I was of course a bit nervous about the flowers getting there and constantly checked the status of the delivery. Everything appeared to be going well. And a little before noontime, I got confirmation that the flowers had in fact been delivered to my friend. YAY!!!!
WOULD I SHOP AT PROFLOWERS AGAIN?
Yes, I would. The delivery problems that occurred were in no way the fault of Proflowers. And when their customer service department was advised of the problem, they made it up to me as best they could. I didn't have to get nasty...simply explained the situation in a calm manner, chronologically. And the representative at ProFlowers listened to me without interrupting and then seemed sincerely sorry about the situation. And again, I stress it was not their fault at all! She was very polite, very understanding, and a pleasure to deal with.
I've also since heard from my friend and she tells me the plant was beautiful.
There's just one more thing I thought I should mention here though. The same plant that I bought for $29.95 is now $39.95. The price went up $10 since my order was placed a little over a week ago. And while $29.95 was reasonable, $39.95 is outrageous, in my opinion. So I definitely wouldn't purchase that particular item again. But I wouldn't have a problem buying something else from them at what I felt was a reasonable price. And I still do see many things that are priced correctly as far as I'm concerned.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
SusanARI
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Member: Susan
Location: Punta Gorda, FL
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 113 members
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